Muggles and International Wizarding Relations

[archeaologee]

No: HPFGUIDX 39545

Ann wrote:
> But what of those
> societies that accept the magical and supernatural? 
> Consider the amount of societies who believe in magic

<snip list of Anthropological magicers> 

> 	Would HP-style witches consider this type of magic to
> be trickery or to have a rational anthropological-type
> explanation?  Or would this be considered an equally
> valid form of magic?  (I think it would be nifty to
> have a class on "Comparative Magic" if these other
> kinds are accepted as real.  Might be able to use a
> "Philosophy/Ethics of Magic" as well).

IMO they sort of accept them, remember the bit about the ancient 
Egyptian curses on the Pyramids - that seems to hint at other 
cultures (albeit past ones) accepting magic, nad that this is seen 
as 'real' magic by UK wizards.  I'm sure the Azande have 
real witches (but remember that they use witchcraft accusations as a 
social regulator and persecute people found 'guitly' so maybe more 
like the "middle age witch burnings" refered to so oftern)

<more snipping>

> 	We saw that wizards can be patriotic/nationalistic
> during the World Cup Quidditch match.  Does Muggle
> politics spill into the international wizarding world?
> Would any magical institution protest
> that there were too many magical immigrants around? 
> Are Magicals involved in Great World Events?  Did they
> participate in any of the World Wars?  Watch the moon
> landing?  Fear nuclear war?
> 

Dumbledore defeated "the dark wizard Grindewald" in 1945, significant 
date eh?

<again he snips>


> 	Is the wizarding world more united than the Muggle
> world?  Are Galleons, sickles and knuts British
> wizarding money or do all Magicals share the same
> currency?  

The wizard money is made of gold, silver, and bronze.  Other coins 
would count if they weighed the same.  It would make no difference 
(similar to the situation in the age of pirates and explorers where 
Spanish dubloons and English soverigns were less relevant that the 
amount of gold they contained)

> [1]  Richley H. Crapo, "Cultural Anthropology:
> Understanding Ourselves & Others" 4th ed.
> (McGraw-Hill, 1996):  340, 341.
> 
> [2]  William A. Haviland, "Anthropology," 7th ed.
> (Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1994): 599.

Cool, Harvard references 

*feels instantly at home*

Haviland is good, but a little too general for me, J G Fraizer's "the 
golden bough" along with others of his are early examples (the 
analysis is still used) and "Deadly words" by Faveret-Saada 
(witchcraft in peasant France) and there's one about 1980's London 
who's name eludes me, are all good (second year 4000 word paper on 
witchcraft becomes sudennly useful).

Hope to have helped a bit (the Harry Potter Lexicon has details on 
size of population etc... where they've done the maths, also it's a 
serious piece of work that I - and I think everyone here - have A LOT 
of respect for).

James (who realises his true nature as a social anthropologist has 
leaked out somewhere, still more hidden though)